I started being an RPG narrator as an adult not too long ago, and a whole world opened for me. Although I was convinced I wouldn’t have time to write my own scenarios (stories) and planned to only ever play scenarios written by others, at some point I couldn’t resist writing my own. It wasn’t even important whether I ended up playing any of them, and in fact I haven’t yet, but I find it just so satisfying to write them. It is an interesting, new, creative hobby that fascinates me.

Writing RPG scenarios is a bit like writing a short story, but instead of writing exactly what is going to happen, you develop the mood, the main events, the characters, the locations, and the clues (if applicable), and only as you narrate them can you fill in the specifics. The reason is that in RPGs, you, as a narrator, are not in control of what the protagonists do. For example, instead of deciding that a secondary character says this or that, you can only decide what that character knows, her personality, and her goals. Then, as you play the scenario, you will have to improvise what that character actually says, depending on what the protagonists ask or how they behave.

Writing the second scenario in particular was an enjoyable, immersive experience. I ended up researching a lot to prepare it: the 1920s generally (even learned about make-up!); the Ku Klux Klan; Charleston, West Virginia in the 1920s… I also tried to create a decent-looking document for it, and even tried to make some basic drawings of some of the characters. There was something irresistible about developing this story and using different skills to bring it all together in the most realistic and vivid way I could manage (which is not a lot, but that’s not the point!).

[caption id=”attachment_1841” align=”aligncenter” width=”300”] One of the drawings for the scenario[/caption]

The 1920s fascinate me because they make me think of how prejudices pass unnoticed and/or as positive traits when they are commonplace, something I tried to highlight a bit in my scenario. I will probably improve it a bit in the next weeks but if you’re curious you can download and read the initial version of “Gone Girls”.